My last blog entry in 2012! This fantastic photograph is in the collection of a friend of mine. He bought it with a lot of other WW1 photographs on a boot fair in Dresden a while ago. It was taken on the 31st of December 1915. Today – 97 years ago.

Karl Heinrich Berthold Schönert

It shows a heavily armed soldier of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 133 on the Eastern Front clad in full winter gear. The soldiers name, which is noted on the backside is : Karl Heinrich Berthold Schönert

From that we know that he was born on the 22nd of January 1885 in Dresden where he had worked as a industrial machine operator before the war started.
Serving in 12th coy of LIR133, he was killed in the Battles at Styr-Stochod by a headshot on the 27th of June 1916, about half a year after this photo was taken. Stochod and Styr are two of the four major rivers of Ukraine, Russia.

He was married to Gertrud Pfefferkorn with whom he had three children. After recieving in military training in Posen he was was transfered to the front on the 15th of October 1915. From the 28th of October to 1st of May 1916 he took part in the fighting on the upper Schtschara-Serwetsch and from the 7th of June 1916 up to his death he fought in the area Styr-Stochod. On the day of his death he was hit by a rifle bullet that pierced his helmet and killed him instantly. He was buried (with other comrades) “below three oaktrees next to the road to Linievka”. His brother Karl Peter, was killed on the same day.

It is very rare to get so much detail about a private soldier. Today I remember, Karl Heinrich Berthold Schönert